The Board dismissed the appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder and granted a 50% disability rating for degenerative joint disease of the left ring finger, effective from July 2010.
The deciding factor: The Veteran withdrew his appeal for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder during his hearing. The Board assigned a single 50% disability rating under Diagnostic Code 5138 for the combined effect of amputations and degenerative joint disease of the left ring finger, which is the highest possible rating allowed.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder, Degenerative joint disease of the left ring finger
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- 50%
- Decision date
- November 12, 2014
- Citation
- 1450045
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1450045.
What this means for you
A denial is a starting point, not the end of the road. You can see why this claim fell short — and, if you are still inside the one-year window, the appeal lanes that may remain open to you.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a low back disability and an increased rating for his acquired psychiatric disorder. The Board found that there was no evidence linking the current disabilities to military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case for a determination on whether injuries sustained in a November 2001 incident were in the line of duty. The claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is also remanded due to its interdependence with the line of duty issue.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to a duty to assist error in failing to obtain private treatment records from the Veteran's treating clinician.
- Granted
The Veteran's claim for an earlier effective date of August 13, 2018, for the award of service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder is granted. The Veteran also meets the schedular criteria for entitlement to TDIU prior to June 1, 2023.
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